Business Beginners Guide To Parking

New to parking? As Canada's parking industry leader we offer a Beginners Business Guide To Parking Management to help you make the right decisions for your parking facility. Review the parking related questions and answers below to help educate yourself or your team about parking management.

+ What is the advantage of working with a parking company that provides a turnkey parking solution?

The main advantage of working with a parking company that provides a turnkey solution is economies of scale. Your organization will save in costs gained by an increased level of production since the products and services are supplied by one organization.

+ Why should I visit a parking company’s facility before hiring them as my parking management and/ or equipment provider?

An organization should request a tour of their prospective parking management provider(s) facility prior to hiring them to ensure they are partnering with a company that has the internal resources and capacity to continuously support their parking system in a timely manner.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

+ What should I keep in mind when partnering with an electric car charging station provider?

When purchasing an electric car charging station, it is important to purchase from a company that:

Supplies the electric car charging station

Will help your organization plan the installation location and infrastructure based on the existing electrical framework

Will provide on-going technical support and maintenance for the electric car charging stations after installation

+ Why should I buy electric car charging stations from a parking company instead of an electrical company?

Partnering with a parking company rather than an electrical company to install an electric car charging station in a parking lot or on-street parking is beneficial since they will provide the parking expertise and knowledge required to generate your organization cost savings in the long run. Partnering with a parking organization to install an electric car charging station will ensure the existing electrical framework is optimized, and the location is user-friendly and optimal for parking management.

+ What are the different levels of electric car charging (EV) charging stations?

There are several different levels of electric car charging stations:

Level 1 (120 Volts/15 Amps)

All fully electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars come standard with a cord set that plugs into a regular wall socket. Level 1 charges slow, but ensures that no matter where you are, you can always recharge.

Level 2 (240 Volts/30 Amps)

The most common speed is Level 2. Easily installed parking lots, on-street or at storefronts, Level 2 stations can fully charge an EV from empty to full in 8 to 10 hours. Canada and the U.S. use the same plug standard, meaning any car can use any charging station across North America. Most of the stations you see in public spaces are Level 2.

Level 3 Charging (480 Volts/100 Amps)

Level 3 stations are often called "DC-Quick Chargers". DC-Quick Chargers will fully charge your car from empty to full in 30 to 45 minutes. Only fully electric cars have access to Level 3. There are three standards of Level 3

CHAdeMO is an Asian standard used by Hyundai, Nissan, Kia and Mitsubishi

SAE Combo is a European/North American standard used by BMW, Chevrolet, Ford and Volkswagen

Supercharger is a Tesla-only standard. All Tesla vehicles can be purchased with adapters for the other two

Parking Passes & Discounts

+ WHAT IS H PASS™?

Motorists can purchase an H PASS™ at a hospital or hotel. An H PASS™ is a preloaded card, with a specific number of days allowing for unlimited entrance and exit to and from the parking lot for the prepaid duration.

+ What was the October 1st, 2016 Ontario government hospital parking rate directive?

The Ontario government is making hospital parking more affordable for thousands of patients, their loved ones and caregivers. As of October 1st, 2016, hospitals that charge more than $10 a day for parking are required to provide 5-, 10- and 30-day passes that are:

+ What does it mean to validate parking?

Monthly Parking

+ What is monthly parking?

Monthly parking provides convenience and cost savings for staff, tenants and visitors who park at the same location regularly. Monthly parking passes are provided to long-term parkers, allowing them to quickly enter and exit a parking lot by tapping their monthly parking pass in-and-out. Benefits of monthly parking technology for your organization are:

Quick traffic flow

Web based (real-time) tracking of usage, entrance and exit per lane for trend analysis and security purposes

+ How much should we charge for a monthly parking pass?

Rates for a monthly parking pass are to be decided by your organization in order to ensure you meet your annual parking revenue goals. Your parking management provider should be able to provide you with a recommendation based on monthly parking rates nearby parking lots charge.

+ Will our staff and long-term parkers have access to an online account?

When purchasing monthly parking technology, it is key to choose a monthly parking technology that allows your regular parkers to create and have access to an online account permitting them to manage their subscription, parking fees and account information.

+ How can I find out what the monthly parking rates at a specific Precise ParkLink parking lot are?

Contact Precise ParkLink's monthly parking department or the parking office located at the particular location.

Pay-by-Phone Parking Technology

+ What is mobile parking?

Mobile parking technology allows motorist to pay for parking using their mobile device. It replaces the need for motorists to get out of their vehicle to pay for parking and display a receipt on their dashboard. Instead, it allows motorists to pay for parking within seconds using a mobile device.

+ What should I ensure when purchasing a license plate recognition (LPR) system?

It is key to ensure that your organizations chooses to purchase an LPR system that is a global product designed and tested to read a wide range of license plate types, including standard, vanity and out of province license plates.

Parking Revenue Financial Services

+ Why should I work with a parking company that meets Level-1 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) criterion?

As a merchant accepting parking payments you are mandated to meet the PCI DSS information security standards to avoid theft and fraudulent schemes from occurring on your watch. Precise ParkLink is the only parking organization in Canada to meet Level-1 (highest level) PCI DSS criterion, permitting us to provide parking revenue financial services.

+ How does my organization receive it’s parking revenue?

Parking Construction & Maintenance Services

+ What do parking construction and maintenance services involve?

Your parking lot is your first impression. As a result, it is important to maintain a safe and clean parking lot. Parking construction and maintenance services may include, but are not limited to the following:

+ Why should I hire a parking equipment company that has an in-house electrical team?

Hiring a parking equipment supplier that has their own electrical team to install the parking equipment is key for cost saving as it eliminates dependence on third party contractors, guaranteeing service quality. It is also key because your parking equipment supplier should be able to provide on-going technical support and maintenance for your parking equipment to ensure it is safe to use and a reliable parking revenue generator for your organization. Moreover, they will most likely be able to install additional electrical services or your parking lot such as lighting.

Parking Equipment

+ What is the main difference between Pay-and-Display and Pay-by-License Plate parking meters?

The main difference between Pay-and-Display and Pay-by-License Plate parking meters are:

Pay-and-Display parking meters require motorists to print a receipt after paying for parking, and then properly display the receipt for parking enforcement purposes.

Pay-by-License Plate parking meters require motorists to enter their vehicle license plate number into the parking meter. They are not required to display their receipt on their dashboard since their license plate is entered into a parking enforcement database that allows parking enforcement officers to look up the vehicles that are legally parked.

+ How can I make sure my parking equipment supplier provides equipment that works?

Prior to installing parking equipment, your parking equipment supplier should stage your parking system live in their pre-production warehouse or laboratory to ensure it functions as it should. They should provide you the option to test the parking equipment in it's staging phase. The parking equipment supplier should also re-test the parking equipment once it is installed.

+ Should the parking company I hire give me access to a central management system that reports on the operations and maintenance of my parking equipment?

Yes. Your organization should choose to work with a parking company that gives you access to a central management system allowing you to keep track of and obtain reports on parking operations and the maintenance status of your parking equipment.

+ If a car accident occurs in my parking lot what should I do?

If a car accident occurs in your parking lot, call 911.

+ If I have an abandoned car in my parking lot what should I do?

If there is an abandoned vehicle in your parking lot, it is your responsibility to authorize a tow truck operator to remove the vehicle from the parking lot. You are required to notify the police of the activity taking place prior to removing the vehicle.

Parking Signage

+ Why should my organization install signage in our parking lot?

Organizations should install signage in their parking lot(s) for the following reasons:

+ Do motorists have to pay parking invoices?

Yes. If parked illegally (without paying or improperly parked) on a private or public property that has a paid parking structure, motorist are obliged to pay the parking invoice issued to them by the property owner or the parking organization chosen to act on behalf of the property owner.

+ What happens if the vehicle owner decides not to pay their parking invoice?

Once the payment deadline passes, the parking organization will conduct a search with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to determine who the registered owner of the vehicle is. The cost to conduct the MTO search, original parking invoice fine, and additional fine for paying the invoice late will be mailed to the registered owner’s home until payment is received.

How To Make Sure Your Parking Rules Are Respected

+ How do I communicate my parking regulations to my visitors?

You should communicate your parking regulations to motorist by installing parking lot signage, parking equipment decals, and a parking information page on your web site allowing visitors to plan their visit a head of time.

+ How do we make sure our visitors respect our parking rules?

Your organization can make sure it’s parking rules are respected by:

Installing parking lot signage

Providing parking customer service with onsite parking staff or remote monitoring customer service

Creating a parking information web page for motorists to plan their visit a head of time